Docs How to use Tidy
Run a takeoff
Measure areas, lengths and counts by hand, with the fast tools that trace rooms and find symbols for you.
1. Set the scale
- Open a sheet in your workspace.
- Click Scale in the tool bar, or the No scale badge.
- Pick the preset printed on the sheet, or click Detected on sheet if Tidy found it.
- Check it: draw a Length along a dimension you know. If it is off, use Calibrate.
2. Name what you measure
Arm a tool. In the Next area bar that appears, type a Subject, such as "ACT-1". Pick a colour. Click Set as default to keep these settings for that tool.
Use the same subject names your budget assemblies will use. That is how quantities find their way into pricing.
3. Measure
| Job | Tool | How |
|---|---|---|
| A room with clear walls | Magic Fill | Click inside the room |
| Every tagged room on the sheet | Detect rooms | Run it once, then check the result |
| An odd shape | Area | Click each corner, then Enter |
| A quick rectangle | Area | Press and drag on empty space |
| A run of wall or pipe | Length | Click along it, then Enter |
| Fixtures or devices | Count | Click each one |
| Many of the same symbol | Symbol Sweep | Box one clean example, review the matches, click Commit |
| A hole in an area | Cut Out | Draw it over the area |
4. Add height or depth
Select a measurement and add Dimensions. A wall length with a height gives you wall area. An area with a depth gives you volume.
5. Check your totals
Open the Markups List at the bottom. Totals are grouped by subject. Click a row to jump to the shape and fix it.
6. Hand it to the budget
Click Budget in the top bar. Link each assembly to the right subject. See Build a budget.
Tips
- Everything saves as you go. If you lose your connection, edits wait and sync when you are back.
- Ctrl + 2 splits the screen so you can keep a schedule open beside the plan.
- Download > Takeoff & Markups (Excel) gives you every measurement by subject.
- Open a PDF saved from Bluebeam and its markups come in automatically.